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Better
Landscape Photography

"The Importance
of Light"

Article
and Images by John Perriment

WOW.
Where do you
begin when writing a masterclass on better landscape photography? After
much thought and experience
I've concluded that it starts, and ends, with light.

Light is the all
important
ingredient.

It's
really
"lightscapes"
we are talking about, not
landscapes. The
land, or sea, or sky is almost incidental, a stage upon which light can
perform. Lakes, rivers, mountains, forests, plains and ocean shores are
merely
props that support the real drama, the drama of light. Once we
understand that,
we have unlocked the secret of better landscape photography.

Let
there be
light!

But
light
comes
in many guises. What type of light are we talking about? Which light is
the most suitable for better landscape photography? There is no simple
answer to this, no
magic
formula. If we all stuck
to photographing just one type of light our
pictures
would quickly become very boring. In truth, although some
are more
spectacular
than others, all types of light have their merits.

better landscape
photography

There is
always a
choice of what to photograph, maybe an expansive
vista with powerful
foreground
leading to a distant horizon and a big sky, or perhaps an intimate
woodland
scene with a small stream tumbling amongst the trees. The same light
won't be
ideal for both but unlike a studio photographer we have no control over
light,
we must use what we are given on any particular day. The trick is to
match the
scene to the light, not the other way around. better landscape
photography

Of
course, there is
nothing wrong
with anticipating light and planning a composition to take advantage of
it.
However, if you arrive on location and the envisaged light fails to
materialize, it's always
good to have a back-up plan to fall back on.
Not sure
what I mean? Let's look at the different types of light and how best to
use
them.

My favourite
light and, I would guess, that of many others, is the light that occurs
(if we
are lucky) around sunrise. Of course, the perfect dawn is not just one
event
but rather a sequence, with the subtle characteristics of the scene
changing as
the minutes tick by like a story unfolding. It may well start with the
main
features of the scene represented as bold shapes, devoid of much detail
in the
half light that is reflecting indirectly from the sky or starting to
seep
cautiously over the horizon to dilute the darkness.

The sun is
not yet
having
any influence and therefore the ambience is blue, adopted from the vast
blue of
the receding night sky above, from which most of the light is
reflected. Those
bold shapes nearest the camera appear the darkest, those furthest in
the
distance the lightest due to tonal recession, but all represented by
various
shades of blue and creating tremendous opportunities for moody,
atmospheric
shots.

The
progressing
dawn moves into the next phase with the rapidly approaching sun, though
still
below the horizon, asserting far greater influence. A warm glow
gradually
strengthens in the eastern quarter of the sky and direct sunlight is
now
illuminating (if you are lucky!) the broken cloud hanging just above a
clear
horizon, making it glow with fiery reds and a golden pallet of orange
and
yellow.
better landscape photography

No direct light is yet falling on the
landscape and so this
will be
rendered as silhouettes if the correct exposure is given to the sky to
capture
all the wonderful colours, although any water in the scene will reflect
those
gorgeous colours from above and help break up the dark anonymity of the
unlit
foreground.

If your
intention
is to present bold shapes such as trees, buildings or hills as
silhouettes
against the rich sky then fine, job done. However, if you want detail
in the
landscape features whilst retaining a wonderfully saturated sky there
is still
work to be done. For film and digital workers alike the
most direct
solution is
to fit a gradual neutral density filter to balance the exposure of
earth and
sky within the dynamic range of the media.

These filters come in
various
strengths and are amongst the most useful of accessories for better
landscape
photography. Digital workers (and indeed film users if intending to
scan their
results) have the option to bracket exposures then merge images later
in post
processing or, if the brightness range is not too severe, adjust a
single raw
file to recover detail from both under and overexposed areas of the
image.
Remember though, there are limits!

Personally, I think it's best to
get
exposure right at the
taking stage if possible.

Now the
sun
is
peeping over the horizon and it's a great opportunity to grab a few
shots to
include it before it becomes too intense and ruins the images with
flare.
better landscape photography

Once
again a decision needs to be made between silhouettes and detail and
which, if
any, graduated filters to use. Do consider, though, that too large an
area of
shapeless black, devoid of any detail, will almost certainly kill the
image.
Speed is
really of the essence now because it's amazing how fast the
sun climbs
above the horizon and how quickly it builds in intensity.
A few minutes
at the
very most is all you have so concentration on what is happening and
good
preparation is vital.

With
all this unfolding in front of you it's easy to overlook what is
occurring behind. The effect can be just as spectacular, with the
low-angled sun raking across the scene, enriching everything it touches
with crimson fire or a golden glow, depending on how far above the
horizon it has travelled.

Should good
fortune continue, there is yet another stage of opportunity to come. If
that
band of cloud is still lingering just above the horizon where the sun
has
risen, then very soon it will start to climb into that cloud and there
is
another chance to capture it partially obscured before it disappears
completely.
Even once it has, if the cloud is broken enough there may be further
opportunities for dramatic pictures.

Of course,
what I
have just described is pretty much the perfect dawn and sunrise, but
how often
does that happen? More likely you will have crawled out of bed at a
ridiculous
hour only to find a thick layer of cloud obliterating any chance of
seeing the
sun and firmly shutting out any hint of dawn colours. You sit for
hours, hoping
against hope for even the smallest break in the cloud before accepting
that it
isn't going to happen.

So it's
turned
out to be a dull, sunless day and the dawn session was a non event. You
can
either trudge your weary way home or put plan 'B' into operation.
Remember what
I said about matching the landscape to the light? It's now
obvious that
the
planned view over the lake towards the distant mountains beyond isn't
going to
work in this flat light with white, featureless sky but what about the
woods
behind?

A quick exploration reveals a delightful
little cameo of
tumbling
stream, bubbling with enthusiasm down a series of small rocky steps
beneath a
canopy of green that masks the dismal sky and seems to almost glow with
the
soft light that gently caresses the translucent leaves.

Better
still,
there's
no harsh contrast between inky shadows and burning pools of sunlight
piercing
through the trees, which would bedevil this scene on a bright, sunny
day and
prove to be well beyond the dynamic range of either digital or film. better landscape
photography

The blanket
of
cloud is acting like a giant diffuser, softening the light and
spreading it
evenly, which is simply ideal for this situation. So make the most of
it and
enjoy many hours exploring the micro landscape amongst the sanctuary of
the
trees. You'll be surprised how many miniature scenes and different
compositions
you find.

Just keep
an eye on the white balance if using digital; the
auto
setting may over or under compensate for the coolness of the dull light
and
need manual override. Film users may need to fit a warm-up filter. Many
outdoor
photographers fail to appreciate the unique and useful qualities of
this type
of light, which ironically the studio photographer will spend much time
and
money trying to emulate with sophisticated diffusers for his studio
lights. better
landscape photography

We seem to have discussed a wide range of different light already, but
in reality the dawn/sunrise scenario may have lasted little more than
half an hour, maybe an hour at the most. What a glorious period of high
activity and ever changing mood! Even the alternative strategy for a
sunless start to the day may have taken us only until mid-morning.

The day will of course progress very differently depending on what type
of light is forthcoming. Although we can categorize light into broad
types there is an almost infinite scope for how it might influence our
photography and what opportunities it is likely to provide according to
time of day, how the weather changes and even what season we are in.

I look forward to an opportunity to explore with you some of the
other types of light and how to make the most of them in my Learn Landscape Photography masterclass. In the meantime
enjoy your landscape photography and don't forget, it's all about light.

More of
John's superb Landscape Photographs and his advice are available in his new book - The Light Fantastic.